With the school holidays now on, it’s a good time to get the young ones busy with some fun activities. While most parents would probably be thinking of heading to the amusement parks, zoo and the usual family-friendly hotspots with their brood, there are other activities that children can try today.
These activities are not just fun, they are also trendy at the moment and encourage the children (and their parents) to stay active during the holidays.
These must-try activities are perfect for any occasion, both indoors and outdoors and are not just for kids, but adults, too. Here are five activities – including stand up paddle-boarding and pickleball, the two hottest leisure sports today – to check out.
Stand-up paddle-boarding, known simply as SUP, involves standing on a board in the water and using a paddle to propel forward at your own pace. Just imagine rowing a boat or kayak, but instead of sitting down, you’re standing on your board (although, technically you could also sit or kneel on a paddleboard).
What makes paddle-boarding exciting is that it requires total control of your body as you try to balance yourself on the board and paddle at the same time. It is the ultimate full-body workout that doesn’t even feel like an exercise.
The only downside is that you can only do this where there is a large body of water so if you live in a land-locked area, you may have to travel a bit further for a day of SUP fun.
For beginners, check out the Malaysia.SUP Academy or Stand Up Paddle Club in Selangor to find out where you can go to try this water sport. Other spots around the country that have companies offering SUP (most of which offer lessons and rent out paddleboards) include Tanjung Aru beach in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah; Sungai Kampar near Gopeng, Perak; and Tasik Widuri in Rawang, Selangor.
If you paddle board at Tanjung Aru, go just before sunset – the views are unbeatable!
This hot racquet sport is taking over the courts all across the nation, with players young and not-so-young showing off their skills all over social media.
Pickleball has been around since the 1960s and was invented by three American men who were looking for a sport that they could play with their young children.
Said to be a combination of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton, it involves two – or more – players hitting a plastic ball back and forth using their paddles (slightly bigger than a ping pong paddle and usually made of wood or composite materials). It can be played on a badminton court, but with a lower net, much like the one used in tennis.
Pickleball is competitive without being too intense, so it’s a great exercise that won’t strain your muscles (or joints!) too much. It is also a good way to create core memories with friends and family.
These days, it is easy to find pickleball courts at any of the cities and bigger towns in Malaysia. The more popular ones include Pickle Social Club and Pickle Nation, both located in Selangor, as well as Pickle Point in KL.
Hot on the heels of pickleball is padel. Also a racquet sport, padel was invented in Mexico in 1969 and is a combination of tennis and squash.
Padel is played in an enclosed court like squash, with walls that you can use to bounce the ball, which is similar to a tennis ball but less pressurised. There’s also a tennis net mid-court.
A padel racquet is slightly bigger than a pickleball racquet, has a different shape and a perforated surface. It is also made from lighter materials like fibreglass.
You can find many padel courts in the Klang Valley (1Utama Shopping Centre has a rooftop court while Berjaya Times Square has one that closes at midnight), and a handful scattered in other states including Pahang, Penang, Perak and Johor.
Some exclusive resorts and sports clubs like the One & Only Desaru Coast (Johor) and The Els Club Teluk Datai in Langkawi (Kedah) also have their own padel facilities.
Bouldering is an indoor climbing sport that does not require ropes and harnesses – unlike regular rock climbing – but the walls are shorter. If you’re worried about safety, don’t because soft bouldering mats are placed underneath to cushion any fall. Staff and trainers will also be around to check up on climbers.
Bouldering is as much a brain workout as it is a physical one as climbers would need to figure out the best strategy to get from the bottom to the top, based on the variety of foot holds, pockets, crimps, pinches and slopes that are on a wall.
Climbing gyms such as Beast Park and MadMonkeyz in KL, Bump Bouldering in Petaling Jaya, and Rocky BaseCamp located in Shah Alam (Selangor) and Johor Baru welcome climbers of all ages and skill levels with their various climbing walls.
Kitesurfing is part surfing and part “flying” ...
Imagine being pulled by a giant kite across the waves, jumping high in the air, and landing with style. Sounds fun, right? The best part is that you don’t have to be an expert at it as most kitesurfing spots offer a comprehensive guide on how to do it safely.
These places also offer “teen-friendly” lessons with smaller kites, and instructors. Yes, this activity is not suitable for younger children, but teenagers are welcome to try.
Kitesurfing services are offered in many prominent beaches around the country.
Some excellent locations for kitesurfing are Tioman Island and Balok Beach in Pahang, as well as Jason Bay in Johor.
Want to travel back in time with the kids? Take them indoor roller skating, which is now cool again but with nicer skates.
Also, most of the indoor roller skating rinks today are aesthetically cool, keeping skaters engaged with all the pretty lights and groovy songs playing.
These indoor rinks often offer beginner zones, too, and they rent out equipment like the skates, helmet and pads. There are also friendly instructors around to help anyone who needs pointers.
There are a handful of indoor skating rinks around the Klang Valley like Rollerwa (at 1Utama Shopping Centre, LaLaport Bukit Bintang City Centre in KL, and IOI City Mall in Putrajaya), Sk8te City (Sunway Putra Mall in KL), PLSC Academy Roller Skate (Subang and Cheras), Digital Skating Centre BTS (Berjaya Times Square), Roller Light (Wangsa Walk Mall in KL).
Outside of the Klang Valley, there’s Rollerka in Penang; Hi Roller in Kuching, Sarawak; and Roller City in Seri Iskandar, Perak.
